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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To hate SATs?

50 replies

MarioandLuigi · 14/02/2011 21:18

DS1 is so stressed about them at the moment - I went into school this morning to help and lots of stressed year 6 children are being drilled with practice question after practice question. I heard the teacher say 'I am helping you out, we are doing these now so you dont have to do so much at home' (and there are doing alot at home).

I mean really, is there any point?

OP posts:

toeragsnotriches · 15/02/2011 21:46

OK, x posted lecce. Sorry!

Bunbaker · 15/02/2011 21:51

Our school did so well last year (placed in top 100 out of all UK primary schools) that DD's teacher is under tremendous pressure to repeat the school's success. He is very short tempered with the class and they get test after test every week. Some of the children are dreading going to school these days.

I can't wait for SATS week to be over.

noblegiraffe · 15/02/2011 21:52

"our school sadly does take notice of them"

Yes, but this is not a reason for parents to stress and do loads of practice with the kids at home. Better for the kids to do a bit crapper at KS2 and avoid unrealistically high FFT targets at KS4.

I just don't understand how they are being sold to parents so that the parents are happy with their kids being stressed out at school and pile extra revision on them at home. Why do they buy into it?

alicatte · 15/02/2011 21:54

I am accustomed to produce a majority of level 5s each year and last year there seemed to be a slight tightening (the marking seemed 'harder' e.g. not just some evidence but a significant body of evidence was required to secure the grade). The ugly rumour is that a child will need to demonstrate significant evidence of level 5 'secondary' standard attainment to achieve level 5 now - i.e. to be awarded the level score that will deliver a level 5 especially in writing. This is a bit different to maths where level 5 is still attainable from a 'score' rather than a study of the work where evidence needs to be extensive in each area.

On the one hand I am disappointed (and perhaps a bit worried) but then again I can also see the fairness of this change for secondary teachers. You have only to look at the differing requirements of level 3 in infant and junior schools to see the problems that can be caused. Then again is it fair to the children this year? Ho Hum - let's hope it is just a rumour.

Feenie · 15/02/2011 21:57

It would be strange to change the marking for just one year, no? When they are going to be revamped next year anyway, I mean. Not that I expect much to change from a party who promised to introduce more 'rigour' into Y6 assessment.

alicatte · 15/02/2011 21:58

I do hope so Feenie. If it was a new test then it would feel fairer to the children I think.

Ingles2 · 15/02/2011 21:58

pointy I think it's dreadful they're prepping for Sats.
I've got a yr 6 son and I stupidly thought we were not getting involved in this at our school... I thought as we're in Kent and have already done the 11+ and setting tests at the comp it was not an issue.
I was wrong.
Ds1 tells me he did a massive maths test today with tracing paper and mirrors and everything...
He also tells me he got full marks which is to be expected as he's G+T maths, and makes me even more bemused as to why he's doing practice tests.
They should be teaching him some creative writing instead, his weak subject.

Feenie · 15/02/2011 22:00

Is this a state school, Ingles?

lecce · 15/02/2011 22:00

Noblegiraffe, not sure why you quoted me there. I totally agree with you, I wasn't making that point to say that parents and children should get stressed about them.

As a matter of fact, when my dc get to that stage I will be doing everything I can to downplay them and stop the practising for them from taking all the joy out of learning for my boys. As a teacher myself, I can confidently say I will be a nightmare parent and will certainly not be doing endless practise tests at home.

Ingles2 · 15/02/2011 22:04

it is Feenie... why?

pointythings · 15/02/2011 22:05

Ingles as far as I know it's pretty normal for schools to drill for SATs - their place in the league tables depends on the scores, after all...

My DD is in YR5 as mentioned before so no pressure yet - she does get tested regularly by the teachers but I have no problems with that - it's teaching her the basics of revision, which is a useful skill, and it's only a week in advance.

To my mind the whole point of testing children is to find out what they can do - teaching them to do the test does not achieve this. I'm not sure how to resolve this - perhaps IQ and aptitude testing would be better, but of course you can practice for this too...

When push comes to shove, I would believe my child's teacher's opinion of what my child can do, not some anonymous hastily-recruited SATs marker, hence my plans to observe what happens in Yr6 and plan a personal boycott if I feel it is required.

Feenie · 15/02/2011 22:08

Then Y6 tests are statutory - whether you live in Kent or not!

Ingles2 · 15/02/2011 22:12

Yes, I appreciate they're statutory and they would be taking them.
I just didn't think they would practice for them here as league table results aren't an issue like they are in London or other big cities.
When you live in a rural area, you go to the closest school and that might be some miles away.
Very few schools are oversubscribed here..

exoticfruits · 15/02/2011 22:14

They need to scrap the league tables.

Original poster

MarioandLuigi · 15/02/2011 22:24

Mt DS is in Year 5 so not even taking them this year, however all the KS2 years in our school take practice ones.

Each week DS has 2 homework tasks and the last couple of weeks they have been questions from Mock SATs papers. If he doesnt hand them in on the friday he has to stay in at playtime and do it.

OP posts:

shamenheights · 15/02/2011 22:59

DCs' school didn't drill for SATs - it was one of the reasons I chose it, they had a much more holistic view of education. I used to help out in the classroom too and they never suffered the narrowing in curriculum that other local schools did. Of course, their results reflected the lack of drilling and it would get slated and avoided by the league-table obsessed mums in the area .

HildegardVonBlingen · 15/02/2011 23:00

Loathe them. Yet another reason why we pay for independent schools. Gah.

Bunbaker · 16/02/2011 07:35

"Yes, I appreciate they're statutory and they would be taking them.
I just didn't think they would practice for them here as league table results aren't an issue like they are in London or other big cities.
When you live in a rural area, you go to the closest school and that might be some miles away.
Very few schools are oversubscribed here.."

I live in a rural area and DD's school was the only one in the LEA to achieve 100% at level 4 in all subjects. This school is oversubscribed. Believe me, this school takes league tables very seriously as they were placed in the top 100 UK primary schools last year.

Apart from the tremendous pressure of SATS it is an excellent school that offers a rounded education and loads of after school activities. It is part of the community and it gets loads of parental support. I shall very sad when DD leaves in July.

toeragsnotriches · 16/02/2011 07:46

What can they do if your child's 'off sick' that day? Are there really any ramifications? I don't remember much happening if this were the case in the secondary ones.

Mind you, I guess if the child's had to put in all the work they might actually want to do the test!

mnistooaddictive · 16/02/2011 07:52

One of the things I hate is they font even get a certificate. They sweat blood and tears. Parents spend hours and some spend £££ and they don't even get a proper certificate for their efforts. That says it all about how important they are.

Bunbaker · 16/02/2011 07:52

The test is sat on the one day only. If a child is off sick it affects the total marks. One year there was a chicken pox outbreak in a school and their SATS results were very poor - something like 29% because only 29% of the pupils were able to get to school. I think this is a ridiculous situation.

Feenie · 16/02/2011 07:54

Four days, not one.

Ephiny · 16/02/2011 08:02

YANBU, I think it's ridiculous. I was in one of the first years to do SATS and I clearly remember the teachers saying that it was the school being tested, not us, and that there was no need to worry about them at all. We were not expected to do any revision or preparation, other than going through a sample paper to see the format and being told about 'exam conditions'.

I don't think we ever even got told our individual results, or it wasn't a big deal if we did (I can't remember it happening).

Actually that might be the best way to do it, don't give out individual results (or indeed keep the papers anonymous) and just collate the overall results for league tables. Then the schools/governments get their data but there's no pressure on individual children.

slightlymad72 · 16/02/2011 08:09

My son was meant to sit his SATs last year, the school thankfully boycotted them but only took this decision after they had drilled the kids for 4 months.(Sept to January) More revision than my daughter who did her GCSEs the year before.

The problems I found with this drilling was when the children answered questions incorrectly they would be sent home with the work and I often found incorrect marking from the teachers, which caused my son a great deal of stress as he believed himself to be stupid, it was very difficult to get him to accept that he had answered correctly and it wasn't his fault. (Maths SATS)

It was very difficult to see my son so upset and I felt I was fighting a losing battle, trying to explain to him that it was okay to get things wrong when the teacher spent every day telling him it was important to get it right.

I'm hoping that by the time my other son gets to Yr6 things will have drastically changed, there is no need to put children under so much stress, a teacher should be confident enough in their teaching abilities to NOT spend months priming the kids.

noblegiraffe · 16/02/2011 14:10

You have to spend months priming the kids because the questions are in a stupid format. I used to hate having to teach kids to answer SATs style questions in Y9 only to then have to teach them that GCSE was completely different in Y10.

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